


A Waino Promise

by Yadirocks



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-06 00:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13399374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yadirocks/pseuds/Yadirocks
Summary: A lot of things happen at Yadier's Winter Warmup party each year. From Michael trying to kiss Carlos' cheek, Wong eating too many tacos, and Adam being a great friend to a sad Yadier, this party surely wasn't going to disappoint.





	A Waino Promise

The first thing that Adam saw when he walked into Yadier's house was Michael Wacha trying to give Carlos Martinez a kiss on the cheek. Not shocking, especially when Carlos pushed Michael away. "Mikey, I swear, if you pucker your lips one more time, I'm going to punch you in the face so hard that you'll think you play for Chicago," Carlos threatened, whacking Michael on the shoulder. Michael just took a swig of his beer and said, "Just wait, Baby Pedro, just wait. One day I'll kiss you on the cheek and you won't even wipe it off," he predicted. Carlos rolled his eyes. "Gee, Mikey, how do you not have a girlfriend?" Tui marveled from the couch, and Adam tossled Michael's hair from behind. "Because the only person who finds Mikey handsome is his mother," Adam jested. Michael crossed his arms and stuck out his lip. "What did I do to deserve such abuse?" he muttered.

Adam returned to his original goal of finding Yadier, but was stalled when he was hit with a ping-pong ball. "Sorry, Waino!" Marp called from across the room. "Was just showing Alex my signature paddle move." Reyes took the ball back from Wainwright, and said, "Between you and me, his ping-pong game is weak." Wainwright patted him on the shoulder and whispered back, "Kick his butt." Alex smiled and nodded, turning around. Adam turned right as Alex said, "Okay, Carp, that was pretty good, but wait until I show you THIS!" Soon, he heard the sound of cheers coming from the living room, and he smiled despite himself.

He knew Yadier was around somewhere, but Yadier was probably preoccupied. After all, his yearly Winter Warmup party was always a smash hit. It was so good that half of the team didn't even remember the last one, mostly because Rosey had said that no one could outdrink him, and by the next morning, everyone was basically laying in a heap in Yadier's kitchen. This time was different, though. Adam _needed_ to talk to Yadier because of what he had said at the Winter Warmup. Yadier was always the last player to appear to the media at the yearly event because Yadier was the captain. This year, though, it may have been more because his news was the biggest in terms of the future of the Cardinals. Yadier had announced that he was planning to retire after his contract was up. Adam wanted to see him just to know that he was doing okay.

It took a long time for him to find Yadier, which was unusual. He ran into several teammates doing things that they really shouldn't have been doing: Wong was eating so many tacos that Adam didn't know how he hadn't thrown up yet, Weaver and Bader were playing MLB The Show and fighting over who was cheating (they were both cheating), and Pham was telling Grichuk a very elaborate lie about his childhood and Grichuk was believing his every word. He only found out where Yadier was when he ran into Carson Kelly, who was sipping on a beer and watching Fowler and Cecil duel with Yadier's light sabers. He approached Yadier's young prodigee and asked him, "Have you seen Yadier? I've been looking for him all over the place."

Carson stared at the rim of his bottle of beer. "He's out on the balcony in his room," he informed, moving out of the way as Dexter made a swipe at Brett's head and nearly hit Carson with the follow-through. "He said he needed some air. I wasn't about to ask him any questions."

Adam gave Carson a smile in thanks, and he made his way to Yadier's bedroom. The door was unlocked, thankfully, and he closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise of the party. He shivered at the cold air coming from the open balcony door. He grabbed a blanket from Yadier's linen closet and wrapped it around himself before stepping out into the cold. There Yadier was, just as Carson had said he would be. He didn't seem to know that Adam was there, because he didn't turn or even really move from where he was standing, arms crossed on the railing and his head tilted up towards the stars. Adam walked towards him, and noticed he was shivering. "You know, it's way too cold outside for you to need fresh air. You hate the cold," he reminded Yadier. The catcher shrugged, not looking back at Adam as he said, "It's way too hot in there."

"Hot? I always thought you preferred the hot to the cold," Adam said with a chuckle, and he stood beside Yadier. His friend answered, "It depends." Now that Adam could see his face, he knew that talking isn't what Yadier wanted to do right now. It was probably why he was out here, withstanding the 12 degree weather, rather than inside chatting with his friends and smacking Carlos on the back of the head every time he opened his mouth to insult Mikey. Instead of talking about the weather, he bundled the corner of his blanket into his fist and put his arm around Yadier, shielding him from the cold. Yadier glanced at him and gave him a small smile in thanks. Adam stared down at Yadier, who was silent for the longest time. "What's going on in that head of yours?" Adam asked.

Yadier took a shaky breath, and Adam didn't really need him to say anything else. He had seen the tears on his cheeks, the ones that he didn't want anyone to see. He pulled Yadier into a sideways hug and whispered, "He'd be proud of you."

The catcher laughed, but it was filled with bitterness. "If only I could hear that from him myself," Yadier whispered. Adam wiped away the tear that fell down his cheek, and Yadier closed his eyes. "Sorry, I just...I just needed a moment."

Adam nodded, and waited for Yadier to gain his bearings. The door to the balcony slid open, and Carlos appeared. When he was Yadier leaned against Adam, he paused. Yadier pulled away from him, but Adam caught his arm before he could turn since he still looked like he had been crying. Adam knew that letting Carlos see him like that would hurt his pride, and he was already hurting, so Adam was about to let him make it worse. Yadier seemed to realize this as well, and he stood there, hands grasping the rails, his face pale in the moonlight.

"What is it, Carlos?" Adam asked. Carlos stepped back, and whispered, "I...nevermind. I can come back later. I just needed to talk to Yadi, but...I guess I have all night to do that."

Yadier closed his eyes, and Adam could tell that he had gotten hurt anyway. "I'll be out in a minute, Carlos. I'll find you when I'm done talking to Waino," Yadier responded. Adam saw Carlos' nod, and he closed the door behind him, looking back once in obvious confusion. "He's gone," Adam whispered, and Yadier relaxed. Then, he whispered, "I'm being selfish, aren't I?"

Adam was stunned by the question. Yadier opened his eyes. "My father always taught me that my teammates come first, and here I am..."

Yadier shuddered, and even though Adam wasn't quite sure it was from the cold, he grabbed Yadier's arm. "Let's talk about this inside. Any longer and we'll both turn into popsicles," he reasoned, tugging Yadier away from the balcony. He lead Yadier to his desk chair, and he wrapped the blanket around him. Yadier whispered, "Thank you." He looked tired, which was unusual for him. Usually he was the life of the party, signing karaoke and defeating any opponent that dared to challenge him on Guitar Hero. Of course, he knew Yadier's intentions probably weren't to have an emotional breakdown at his own party. Those things, Adam knew, just sort of hit you out of nowhere. Adam was glad he had gotten to Yadier before one of the rookies could.

Just to be sure that they would remain alone, Adam locked the door to the master bedroom. Then, he pulled up a chair beside Yadier. "Spill," he said. "I'm not letting you leave until you get it all out."

Yadier shot him a glare, but it was weaker than normal. "Don't make this cheesy," he warned. Adam smiled at him. "You know that's impossible," he said, laughing at Yadier's eye roll. Then he became serious again. "Yadier, I know this is about your dad."

Yadier shifted uncomfortably, and the small bit of life he had had before dimmed. Adam knew he had to tread lightly here. Yadier was very sensitive about what had happened back in 2008, though he wouldn't admit that it had traumatized him. Adam didn't know what it was like to lose a father or to even have one, so he knew that he couldn't totally understand what Yadier was going through...but he could let him talk about it. "Hey," he whispered, and Yadier met his eyes. He took Yadier's hand. "Whatever you say in here will stay in here. I promise, and a Waino promise is true."

"I know," Yadier admitted softly. He took a deep breath, and released it slowly. "It just...hurts. I never imagined when I first came up that I would be announcing my retirement without him by my side. Every time I think I've gotten over it...it comes back and pushes me even harder. It feels like I've been shot, but there wasn't any weapon. I can't sleep at night because the guilt of what happened follows me even in my dreams."

Tears were falling down his face, though they were silent. The pain in his eyes was real, though, as if he really had been shot and Adam felt panic rise in his chest over what to do about it. He had to remind himself that Yadier wasn't dying, but his heart was breaking again. Adam waited for Yadier to continue, and finally, he went on. "When I got that call, that my dad was having a heart attack...I had just left his house not half an hour before. I could've been there with him. I could have skipped going to the store. Maybe I could've saved him when he got to the hospital, and maybe I should've made them keep going when they were trying to revive him. Now I have to live with him missing all of the things I had always imagined him living with me for, and I deserve that pain."

Adam couldn't help himself. He pulled Yadier into a hug. "That's not true, Yadi," he whispered. He hated seeing Yadier so sad. He remembered how bad it had been back in 2009. There were entire road trips where Yadier wouldn't leave his bed except to go play a game, and he hadn't answered the door for Albert, Adam, Tony, no one. It was only when Tony forced him to bunk with Yadier that Yadier finally spilled everything over a six-pack of beer and the highlights from a devastating loss. Adam knew that this wasn't nearly as bad as it had been back then, but the fact that Yadier was still this influenced by his father's death was concerning to him. He wondered what had triggered it this time. Surely it wasn't Yadier's plans to retire.

"I'll never know if he'd be proud of me," Yadier murmured into his shoulder. There it was. Adam sighed, holding Yadier tighter. "I know I can't speak for him, but Yadi...if he were here, how could he not be proud of you? You've done so much for so many people. You're a great husband, a great father, and a great friend. Yadier, he may not be here, but there's so many people who love you that are here and would tell you how proud they are of you in a heartbeat."

Yadier sniffed and pulled away. "I know," he whispered. Adam shook his head. "No, you don't. Yadier, I love you like a brother, and I will always be proud of you and believe in you. Even when you're hurting, like you are right now, I'm always confident that you're going to bounce right back from it and come back even stronger, because that's just how you are. You're incredible, Yadier. You don't even know it, but you are."

His friend gave him a smile. "Thank you," he whispered. He rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry that I basically ruined this party for you. I don't know what came over me."

Adam laughed. "Who says the party is ruined? I still plan on going out there and challenging Luke and Bader to a light saber fight and eating all of the nachos that I want."

Yadier smiled shakily. Adam stood and offered him a hand. Yadier stared at him. "Are you coming, or are you just going to sit there? We still have time to turn tonight into a night you won't forget, if you're willing," Adam suggested.

Finally, finally, Yadier took Adam's hand. Adam smiled. "This party isn't a party without you, Yadier. Now come on. Let's celebrate like we're rookies again."

Yadier's smile turned mischievous. "We're going to need a lot more pudding then," he said, and Adam laughed, hauling Yadier out of his bedroom. They entered back into the living room, just in time to watch Mikey kiss Carlos full on the cheek. As promised, Carlos punched him, and Michael gave a jovial shout of, "Go Cubs go!" before collapsing onto the floor. The more the night went on, the less sad Yadier seemed to be. Adam watched Yadier's smile grow bigger and bigger throughout the night, laughing and joking with teammates like their discussion earlier had never happened. And Adam would pretend it had never happened too. He had made a Waino promise, and a Waino promise was true.

 


End file.
